Page 145 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

• convey specific practical information about different aspects of
entrepreneurship, e.g. procedures for starting up a company or how to access
state support for self-employed people.
Television in particular, allows the subject of entrepreneurship to be
portrayed in an interesting and engaging way, with role models presented to
attract people, especially the young, to the path of entrepreneurship. Besides
showing what being an entrepreneur could be like, TV can also provide factual
information in an entertaining and easily understandable way.
Different types of TV programme have different strengths and attract different
audiences. Reports best convey factual information and can react quickly to new
developments, but are likely to only be viewed by people who are already
entrepreneurs or those who are seriously considering this option. For example,
every episode of the programme Firma in Poland shows step-by-step how to start
a particular type of business, how much money needs to be invested, which
regulations have to be observed, which equipment is necessary and how much
one can expect to earn.
Documentaries on famous business people can glamorise self-employment
and offer inspiration. To make entrepreneurship seem a feasible option,
documentaries of ordinary people setting up a business are important. TV
reaches a very large audience, but may not offer a very realistic or positive image
of entrepreneurs.
Docu-soaps that follow the life of entrepreneurs are a good way to show
what entrepreneurship means in reality. While programmes about exceptional
entrepreneurs can be inspiring, there are several ‘docu-soaps’ on normal self-
employed people that are very important in showing that entrepreneurship is
something feasible and a viable career opportunity for many people that does not
automatically involve heroic efforts or big sacrifices. One example is The
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Hustlers, UK ( ) which depicts the journeys of five entrepreneurs in the arts,
media and fashion industry who set up businesses in the North of England where
traditionally the focus for businesses has been on industrial services. Another
series, described in Example 33, that not only shows the daily life of ordinary
entrepreneurs but generates interest through being interactive is Dvanáct
odvážných (The Courageous Twelve) in the Czech Republic.

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( ) Available from Internet: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-hustlers [cited 20.9.2010].

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